Benjamin dobson and william slater



' dinard states @anni @Wire Letters Patent No. 94,089, dated August 24, 1869.

l IMPROVEMENT IN LIFTING- PLATS IN SIElIIIiESTRIFPIN(`.-i CARDING-BNG-INES;

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all to whom fit may concern Be it known that we, BENJAMIN DoBsoN, of the firm of Messieurs Dobson and Barlow,machine-makers, and WILLIAM SLATER, manager', both of Bolton, in the county of Lancaster, in England,- have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oarding Engines; and we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descliption thereof', reference being had to the annexed drawing, forming part of this specification; that is to say- Our invention relates to the carding-engines for which Letters Patent were granted, in England, to George Wellman, on the 11th September, 1860, No. 2,190, and known as XVellmans patent caiding-engines.

In those carding-engines, the top flats were raised and lowered by a cam or by a series of` curves on the face ol' the lifting-wheels, acting-on pins in the slides in the radial arms.

Now, our invention consists in dispensing with these cams or curves and pins, and lifting the top flats by a bowl on the lifting-wheel acting on a` curved surface en the slides, which are d rawn down by springs, as soon as the bowls have passed.' By this means, the top flats are rapidly raised and lowered again into their proper working-place, and thereby better' work is produced and time saved.

Another part of our invention consists inl the application of a ratchetavheel to the cross-driving shaft, and a catch to the radial arm, to prevent the said shaft from moving in the wrong direction.

Description of vthe Drawing.

Figure l is an elevation of pai-tof the framing of a carding-'engine and of' our improvements;

Figure 2 is a section of the framing and side view of our improvements; and v Figures 3 and'4 are detached views of parts of our improvements.

.The main framing of'the @aiding-engine, A, carries the bends B, which support" the series of top flats C, and to these bends are secured, one at each side of the engine,'the double mangle-racks, or toothed seg-l ments D, for obtaining the desired to-and-fro travelling motion ofthe radial arms E, which carry the flat raising and stripping mechanism, and the gearing for driving the same. I.

These radial arms are supported by and work round the pedestals, which carry the main cylinder-shaft F.'

Near the upper ends ofthe radial arms are mounted the wheels G.

Each of these wheels has a small anti-friction bowl, H, Working on vstuds I, which are secured to 'the wheels G.,

These studs and bowls are used for the purpose of raising and lowering the slides X, seen best in fig. 3, which act upon the top flats.

flat, to their full height.

The wheels G have. also attached, or castfto one face on the opposite side to the bowl H, an internal cam, J, in the grooves of which work the small antifriction bowls K, carried by studs fixed in the levers L, these leversbeing jointed to the radial arms near to their-fulcra.

At the upper end of the levers L, are secured' the ends oft-,he board M, to which is fastened the stripping-card N, which cleans the top flats.

The upper ends of the two radial arms E are'conneoted together by a cross-rail, E', which passes over the top of the card.

Upon eachside of the carding-engine are similar cams, wheels, and studs, as before named, to which rotary motion is imparted by a small pulley, O, fixed on the end ofthemain cylinder-shaft F.

The ulley O drives by means of' a strap, the pulley P, which is fixed on the cross-shaft Q. This crossshaft is supported at each end by the radial arms.

On the shaft Q are two pinions It It', which work into two vcarrier-wheels S S.

These carrierwheels work on studs secured to the radial arms, and have eachy of them a pinion, l T', fixed to them.

These pinions work into and drive the wheels G G'.

It is by these means that motion is transmitted from one side ofthe card to the other, so that both sets of gearing rotate together.

One portion of the 'periphery of each of' the wheels G G is provided with au extraV segment of teeth, which gears into and imparts one rotation to the pinions `U U', carried on the ends ofthe swing-arms VV', as best shown in iig. l, which are jointed to studs ou the radial arms E.

Each of the pinions U U' is provided with a lockplate, which, by bearing. upon the turned rims of the wheels G G'rholds the radial arms stationary afterv each revolution of they pinions U U.

A'second pinion, NV W', is fixed on the axisof each of the pinions U U', and these gear into the toothed segments D hence, it follows that at each revolution of the pinions WV, a forward motion will be imparted enables it .to pass to the radial arms, which motion from one top card or flat to another.

At the upper. 'end of each'of the radial yarms is a slot, in which the slides X work. These slides are curved on the under surface in such a manner that thebowls H first raise them, together with the top Then thereis a slight dwell whilst the'stripper M passes underthe top flat. After this the slides, together with the top flat, lower a little, so as to bring'the wire clothing of the top flat O in Contact with the stripping-card N.

The internal cams J then act upon the levers L and withdraw the stripperMfrom underneath the top dat, bringing all the impurities along with it.

slide past-the catch and lift it up;

About the time that the stripper has withdrawn from underneath the top flat, the bowls H begin to leave the' slides X X1, on one side of -each of which is a curved incline, which comes in contact with the bowls H as the bowls are carried round by the wheels G. Thus, by varying the shape of these curved inclines on the slides, the speed at which the top flats are let down again into their working-position, can be regulated.

To each of the slides X X1 is 'fastened one end of a spiral spring, X, the other end of which is secured to the radial arms.

The object of these springs is to draw down the slides as soon as the bowls H have passed their lower ends. i

By these means, raised and lowered down again into their proper working-position, than has hitherto been done when using cams, or a series of curves on the face of the wheels G, for raising and lowering the top flats, thus producing better work, because the cleaned wire of the top flat is brought into work with the main cylinder inless time than before.

Another part of our invention, shown in figs. 1 and 2, consists in. the application of a ratchet-wheel, Y, which is secured to the shaft Q, and a catch, Z, which is jointed to the radial arm E.

The object of this ratchet-wheel and catch is to prevent the strippin g-apparatus from moving in the wrong direction. When the cross-driving shaft Q is turning in the proper direction, the teeth of the ratchet-wheel but, if in' case the shaft attempted to tuin in the wrong direction, byv reason of the driving-shaft of the stripping-apparatus being put on the wrong way,vthen the catch Z would fall into the teeth of the ratchet-wheel Y and arrest its motion,

the top Hats are rnore rapidly A mechanical equivalent, for effect-ing the same object, is shown in ig..4.

The pulley'P has one-h alf of a catch-box with ratchet-teeth upon it, and runs loose upon the shaft, whilst another half of a catch-boX, (having corresponding ratchet-teeth and turning with the shaft, but capable of sliding endwise on a kcy,) is held in gear with the first half by a light spring, when the shaft Q is turning in the proper direction.

But if in case the pulley P is turned in the wrong direction, then the ratchet-teeth of the two boxes would slide `over each other, and alrest the motion of the stripping-apparatus.

ments, and the manner in which the same are or may be carried into claim any 'of those parts described and shown which are well known and in common use; but

What we do claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America, is V .1. Tlieaneehanical combination and arrangement of the parts marked G, H, and I, thevsldes X, and the springs X, for lifting and drawing down the top flats.

2. In combination with the above, the wheel Y and tl1e catch Z, or their equivalents, to prevent the cr'ossdriving shaft being driven in' the wrong direction.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, ofFebrnary, in the year of our Lord 1868.

- BEN. DOBSON.

WILLIAM SLATER.

Witnesses H. B. BAnLow, T. E. BARLOW.

Having now described the nature of our improveeffect, we desire to say that we do notv before two subscribing witnesses,'this 25th day 

